COACHING IS ABUSE

Second child sex offender allowed to work at Paris Olympics

Jeremy Wilson
Sun, August 4, 2024

Brett Sutton (R) was an accredited coach for China in Paris

The International Olympic Committee is investigating how an Australian child sex offender, who coached the women’s triathlon silver medallist, was accredited for the Paris Olympics.

Brett Sutton was photographed at the women’s triathlon with Switzerland’s Julie Derron while wearing an Olympic lanyard over his China tracksuit top. Derron finished one place above British bronze medallist Beth Potter.

Sutton pleaded guilty in 1999 to five counts of sexual abuse of a 13-year-old Australian girl who he had been coaching in the 1980s, receiving a suspended two-year prison sentence.

According to a report in The Sunday Times, the judge, Robert Hall, told Sutton that he had interfered with the girl in a “gross and disgraceful way” and “abused his role to an inexcusable degree”.

It follows the controversy over the the Dutch volleyball player Steven van de Velde, who was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 after raping a 12-year-old British girl, and is into the last 16 of the Olympic doubles competition. Van de Velde had travelled from the Netherlands to the UK in August 2014, when he was 19, to meet his victim.

A spokesperson for Sutton said that he had served a three-year sanction imposed by the International Triathlon Union while a spokesperson for Australia’s National Olympic Committee said that Sutton was “banned for life from swimming in Australia following his sexual offences conviction”.

The IOC are now investigating. “We will look into this issue – there are many safeguarding facilities here but obviously the vetting, regulations and accreditation of people is part of a four-year process which depends on the work of National Olympic Committees and International Federations,” said an IOC spokesperson.

“While we have safeguarding measures in place unfortunately things do occur from time to time and we will look into this. Then there’s the broader, philosophical point.

“I don’t know exactly when but that crime may have taken place more than 10 years ago. There is some rehabilitation possible if people accept guidance, counselling and safeguarding, which we understood is the case. The NOC chooses and we have to be content that the situation is acceptable.”

In 2002, Sutton told the Observer that he no longer coached children under 16. “It’s the age of consent,” he said. “My lawyer told me. That way, no one can say I am a paedophile.”

According to World Triathlon, he is in Paris as an accredited coach for China and it is reported that he also attended the past three Olympic Games as a member of the Swiss team.

A spokesperson for the Swiss national Olympic committee said that Swiss athletes decide for themselves who they work with as personal coaches.

It is understood that Sutton, who has been based in Switzerland, has now left the Paris Games after his athletes finished competing.

Trump assassination attempt makes him like Mussolini, who used own shooting for power grab: Politico column

Gabriel Hays
Sat, August 3, 2024 at 11:43 AM MDT·3 min read
842

Anti-Trump author and New York University history professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat argued that the assassination attempt on former President Trump speaks "to how autocrats can use adversity to strengthen their power," linking Trump's situation to an attempt on the life of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

In a column for Politico Magazine, the author noted how both attempts solidified their strongman appeals. She mentioned that both used photos of them surviving shootings to work the crowd for more sympathy.

"With that gesture, Trump tended to his personality cult, reassuring millions of his devoted followers that he had survived and was unbeaten — just as Mussolini did with his photo almost 100 years before," Ben-Ghiat wrote, adding, "The danger is what comes next."

Liberal author and NYU history professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat said the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump makes him even more like Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

She began the column by detailing the third assassination attempt against the dictator, which was performed by an Irish-born British pacifist named Violet Gibson, who "stepped out of the crowd and shot him" while he was walking the streets of Rome following a speech in 1926.

Explaining how Mussolini used this incident for his own political gain, Ben-Ghiat wrote, "That is why Mussolini, a journalist by training who attended to every detail of his image, posed for pictures after the attack, the bandage becoming a kind of badge of honor. And it is why each failed attempt became fodder for his personality cult by seeming to prove his macho toughness, resilience and invincibility."

Then came the direct comparison to Trump, who, after he was shot in the ear in Butler, Pennsylvania last month by a round from an AR-15 that barely missed his skull, stood up from cover and told his rally goers to "Fight, fight, fight!" The moment was captured in vivid photographs.

Though Ben-Ghiat acknowledged that Trump can’t use the moment to bolster his literal power, as he’s not in office, she insisted "that the assassination attempt has made Trump’s personality cult more robust and more powerful for his followers. His claims of being a victim targeted on their behalf are now more credible and his persona cemented as an indomitable fighter. And he knows it."

"Familiarity with the behavior of strongmen gives Trump’s actions in the dramatic minutes after he was shot a crucial frame of reference. Most people in that situation would have had the instinct to flee to safety. Not Trump," she added.


Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler watch a Nazi parade staged for the Italian dictators' visit to Germany. (Getty Images)

The author went on, noting that Mussolini was able to leverage the attack on his life to consolidate more power in Italy and make him immune from governmental checks and balances. She said this is the danger following an attack on a strongman, that it "often boosts the leader’s personality cult, and it lends credence to narratives about his omnipotence and the need for his repressive laws to keep the country safe from crime."

Ben-Ghiat added, "This has been the case so far with Trump, whose supporters have seized on the shooting and even cited divine intervention in saving his life. The shooting also comes in an atmosphere of heightened political violence that Trump has helped bring into the mainstream."

She also said that "This awful assassination attempt will validate" Trump’s rhetoric that his enemies are also targeting his supporters, thereby strengthening their bond and volatility. "Followers of authoritarian personality cults who are bonded to the leader can become volatile when he is in distress."

The author concluded, "In this light, Mussolini’s bandaged nose and Trump’s bandaged ear both speak to how autocrats can use adversity to strengthen their power at democracy’s expense."

Canada Rejects Maduro’s Claim of Victory in Venezuela

JOINS THE HOWLING HORDES

Brian Platt
Sun, August 4, 2024 


(Bloomberg) -- Canada cautiously waded into the Venezuelan election dispute, rejecting the official results released by Nicolas Maduro’s government but stopping short of declaring opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez the rightful winner.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, which played an activist role in the US-led effort to unseat Maduro as part of the Lima Group in 2019, called for “a peaceful, negotiated and Venezuelan-led solution” to resolve the crisis and offered to work with “partners in the region.”

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, in a statement Sunday night, said the data collected by independent observers “provides credible evidence that the results claimed by Maduro authorities of this election don’t reflect the will of the Venezuelan people.” Her statement didn’t mention Gonzalez by name.

Canada’s stand contrasts with the more direct approach of President Joe Biden’s administration. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that Gonzalez clearly won the most votes in the July 28 presidential election and called for a peaceful transition of power.

Maduro declared himself the winner but Venezuela’s regime-controlled electoral authority, which says he won 52% of the vote, has yet to release detailed results. The opposition has published records from about 80% of voting stations that show Gonzalez secured at least 70% support, sparking nationwide protests.

The authoritarian president has threatened to jail Gonzalez and banned opposition leader Maria Corina Machado for fomenting dissent and alleged electoral meddling.

Venezuelan voters turned out in large numbers and the Canadian government “deeply regrets that Venezuelan authorities did not respect this impressive civic engagement by failing to share the proof of the results,” Joly said. “We reiterate our call on the Venezuelan authorities to ensure transparency and publish detailed results for all polling stations.”

Last year, Canada took steps to restore ties with Maduro’s socialist government, marking a turnaround after it had backed an earlier push by Donald Trump’s administration to recognize former National Assembly President Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s leader.

Maduro, whose regime has arrested at least 2,000 people since Monday for allegedly trying to destabilize the government, has said the latest international push against him will fail. He has repeatedly described Gonzalez as “Guaido 2.0.”

 Bloomberg Businessweek

EU refuses to recognise Maduro victory in disputed Venezuelan elections

RFI
Mon, August 5, 2024




The European Union has heaped further international pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, joining Washington and South American nations in refusing to recognise the win he has claimed in recent elections marked by fraud allegations.

A statement from the EU Council on Sunday said the results published by Venezuela's National Electoral Council on 2 August could not be recognised.

Any attempt to delay the full publication of the official voting records would only "cast further doubt" on the credibility of the polls, it said.

Venezuela's election authority said the 28 July vote was won by incumbent Maduro, a result that defied pre-election polls and ignited protests that rights group say have left 11 people dead so far and thousands arrested.

A growing number of nations, including the United States and Argentina, say the election was won by opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

EU states France, Germany, Italy and Spain are among those to urge transparency, calling on authorities to release detailed vote tallies.

The latest rejection comes as Venezuela's opposition backed outside calls for the results of last week's disputed presidential vote to be published, as the Pope said Venezuelans must "seek the truth" and warned against further violence.
'Commitment to democracy'

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who spent much of the week in hiding after Maduro threatened her with arrest following the protests, welcomed these countries' "commitment to democracy" over the weekend.


EU joins refusals to recognize Maduro as Venezuela vote winner

AFP
Sun, August 4, 2024 

A supporter of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro protests in Caracas (Pedro Rances Mattey)

The European Union heaped further international pressure Sunday on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, joining Washington and Latin American nations in refusing to recognize the win he has claimed in the recent election marked by fraud allegations.

The latest rejection comes as Venezuela's opposition backed outside calls for the results of last week's disputed presidential vote to be published, as the Pope said Venezuelans must "seek the truth" and warned against further violence.

The results published by Venezuela's National Electoral Council on August 2 "cannot be recognised," the EU Council said in a statement.

"Any attempt to delay the full publication of the official voting records will only cast further doubt" on their credibility, it said.

The country's election authority says the July 28 vote was won by incumbent Maduro, a result that defied pre-election polls and ignited protests that rights group say have left 11 people dead so far and thousands arrested.

A growing number of nations, including the United States and Argentina, say the election was won by opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

EU states France, Germany, Italy and Spain are among those that have urged transparency, calling on authorities to release detailed vote tallies.

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who spent much of the week in hiding after Maduro threatened her with arrest following the protests, welcomed these countries' "commitment to democracy" over the weekend.

She had backed the candidacy of Gonzalez Urrutia after she herself was banned from running.

"On behalf of Venezuelans, I thank you for this important message... reaffirming your commitment to democracy," she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

But unlike the United States and several other countries, the EU has refrained from recognising Gonzalez Urrutia as president-elect.

"Copies of the electoral voting records published by the opposition, and reviewed by several independent organisations, indicate that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia would appear to be the winner of the Presidential elections by a significant majority," the EU statement said.

"The European Union thus calls for further independent verification of the electoral records, if possible by an internationally reputed entity."

On Friday, the National Electoral Council (CNE) ratified Maduro's victory with 52 percent of the vote against 43 percent for Gonzalez Urrutia.

Claiming to be the victim of computer hacking, the CNE, which the opposition accuses of being loyal to Maduro, has still not provided details of the vote on a poll-by-poll basis.

The opposition believes this is a maneuver to avoid revealing the true results, and has published the minutes of each polling station on a website showing that Gonzalez Urrutia won 67 percent of the vote.

Maduro has rejected their validity.

"We support the request for the verification of the minutes that we have presented, as soon as possible, at an international and independent level," said Machado.

"We also appreciate the call for an end to the persecution and repression which, in recent hours, has been cruelly deployed against innocent people who are merely demanding respect for the popular sovereignty they exercised" last Sunday, she added.

- 'Seek the truth' -

She spoke as Pope Francis, saying Venezuela was undergoing "a critical situation," sent "a heartfelt appeal to all parties to seek the truth and exercise moderation to avoid any type of violence."

Maduro has slammed what he called attempts to "usurp the presidency," while Machado has said the opposition has "never been so strong."

After Venezuela's last election, in 2018, Maduro was proclaimed winner amid widespread accusations of fraud. Eventually the United States and many other countries recognized the then-speaker of parliament, Juan Guaido, as acting president.

But Guaido failed to remove Maduro from office and the once wildly popular young politician faded from public life.

Maduro, 61, has slammed the international criticism, describing allegations of vote fraud as a "trap" orchestrated by Washington to justify "a coup."

He has led the oil-rich, cash-poor country since 2013, presiding over a GDP drop of 80 percent that pushed more than seven million of once-wealthy Venezuela's 30 million citizens to emigrate.

Experts blame economic mismanagement and US sanctions for the collapse.

burs-st/mlm/dw

UK beekeepers and scientists tackle sticky problem of honey fraud

Daniel MATTHEWS
Mon, August 5, 2024 

Beekeeper Lynne Ingram tends to a hive in Somerset (Justin TALLIS)


Lynne Ingram cuts a peaceful figure as she tends to a row of humming beehives in a leafy corner of Somerset, southwest England.

But the master beekeeper, who has been keeping hives for more than 40 years, has found herself in a fight against a tricky and evolving foe -- honey fraudsters.

The practice of adulterating honey is well known, and historically adulterants such as ash and potato flour have been used.


Now, advancements in technology and science have made it much easier, with "bespoke, designer or bioengineered" syrups used as diluting agents capable of fooling authenticity tests, Ingram said.

She founded the UK Honey Authenticity Network (HAN UK) in 2021 to raise awareness about natural honey and warn of the threat posed by fraud.

"One of the impacts we're seeing all over the world is beekeepers going out of business," she said.

Adulterated honey can be sold to retailers for a price several times lower than genuine producers can afford.

As well as producing their own honey, many larger-scale beekeepers have crop pollination contracts with farmers, delivering thousands of colonies to growers across the country.

If they go out of business due to unfair competition, this vital natural method of pollinating crops is reduced and food production suffers.

The British Beekeepers Association, which represents more than 25,000 producers and where Ingram is a honey ambassador, wants the risk of fraud to be recognised to protect the industry and consumers.

"I'd like to see an acknowledgement that there is actually an issue here," she said.

- Better labelling -

In May, the European Union updated its honey regulations to ensure clearer product labelling and a "honey traceability system" to increase transparency.

On the labelling for blended honeys, for example, all countries of origin are now required to appear near a product's name, where previously it was only mandatory to state whether blending had occurred.

Labelling in the UK, which has now left the EU, is not as stringent and Ingram believes consumers are "being misled" by vague packaging.

Behind the EU action is an apparent increase in adulterated honey arriving in the 27-nation bloc.

The substandard adulterates can have adverse effects on consumers' health, such as raising the risk of diabetes, obesity, and liver or kidney damage.

Between 2021 and 2022, 46 percent of the honey tested as it entered the EU was flagged as potentially fraudulent, up from 14 percent in the 2015-17 period.

Of the suspicious consignments, 74 percent were of Chinese origin.

Honey imported from the UK had a 100-percent suspicion rate.

The EU said this honey was probably produced in third countries and blended again in the UK before being sent to the bloc.

The UK is the second largest importer of honey in terms of volume in the whole of Europe. China is its top supplier.

Not all of the UK's imported honey leaves the country, however. Considerable quantities stay on the domestic market.

"We think there's an awful lot of it on the shelves," said Ingram, adding that adulterated honey was "widely available" in big supermarkets.

- Lasers -

Behind the closed blinds of a research laboratory at Aston University in Birmingham, central England, researchers fighting honey fraud are harnessing cutting-edge technology.

Aston scientists and beekeepers, including Ingram, are using light to reveal the contents of honey samples at the molecular level.

The technique -- known as Fluorescence Excitation-Emission Spectroscopy (FLE) -- involves firing lasers into samples.

The light frequencies re-emitted are then collated into a three-dimensional image — or "molecular fingerprint" — of the honey tested.

Alex Rozhin, the project lead and a reader in nanotechnology, said the test "can trace different molecules through the spectrum and confirm which type of biochemicals are present".

In the darkened lab, the light from different honeys is clearly visible.

The first gives off a vivid green and the second a cooler blue, indicating distinct chemical compositions.

Using FLE, Rozhin says his team "can immediately trace a concentration of fraud inside samples" with "different spectral bands corresponding to syrup (or) to natural honey".

Rozhin said FLE is more accurate than existing tests and can provide results far quicker, at a greatly reduced cost and without the need for highly trained personnel.

One of the Aston team's aims is to create a version of FLE that can be used by honey producers or even consumers with scaled-down equipment or eventually just a smartphone.

Rolling the test out like this would also accelerate the creation of a honey database which, through machine learning, could be used as a catalogue of biometric signatures.

"If we get a new sample and it's been tampered with and it's different from how the database is built up, we'll know there's something obscure," said Steven Daniels, an Aston research associate specialising in machine learning.

Ingram said the test could close international gaps in testing methods by establishing a unified standard, but the government needed to monitor the sector too.

"We really need to get to grips with this," she said.

video/phz/gil

Opinion: Why is the 'pro-family' GOP blocking legislation that would help lift many kids out of poverty?

Justin Talbot Zorn and Mark Weisbrot
Sun, August 4, 2024 

Vice presidential candidate JD Vance is among the Republicans saying that Democrats are anti-family. (Julia Nikhinson / Associated Press)


Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance told Megyn Kelly last month that Democrats are calling for an end to the Child Tax Credit because they are “anti-family and anti-kid.” Vance, who has courted controversy for calling Democrats the party of “childless cat ladies,” then declared, “We should send the signal to the culture that we are the pro-family party, and we’re gonna back it up with real policy. We’re the party of parents, we’re the party of kids.”

Republicans are using Vance's kids and families rhetoric to convince voters to choose them in November, but they are failing when it comes to backing it up. In fact, they’re actively opposing important legislation to help children and parents.

On Thursday, Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would expand the Child Tax Credit — the very policy that Vance has championed and just accused Kamala Harris of opposing. Vance didn’t show up for the vote. Killing the proposal was a loss to roughly 16 million children in low-income working families, who would have benefited from about $700 in tax relief this year. Estimates from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities show that the proposal would have lifted at least 500,000 children above the poverty line and raised the family incomes for at least 5 million more poor children.


Read more: Calmes: Finally, a limit to Donald Trump's Teflon superpower — J.D. Vance

The Child Tax Credit isn’t just the most effective policy tool for pulling children out of poverty — it’s also one of the most popular legislative proposals in the country right now. The current bill had bipartisan support when it passed the House in a 357-70 vote in January. Polling showed that 69% of Americans supported the proposal, including 80% of Democrats, 59% of Republicans and 63% of independents. The legislation even included tax cuts for some businesses’ research and development efforts as well as investments that Republicans have long sought.

Influential business groups made it clear that they wanted the bill to pass. But Republican leadership was able to keep it from getting to a vote, even with a majority of the Senate in favor, because 60 votes are needed to break the filibuster.

The big reason that Republicans killed the Child Tax Credit measure appears to have little to do with policy. Iowa Sen. Charles E. Grassley said the quiet part out loud in January when he noted that it might “make Biden look good.”

Read more: Column: It's hard sharing a party with Trump or Vance. They taint the right's good ideas

Republicans also fought the bigger, temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit that passed in 2021. That legislation was historic, and poverty among children was reduced by 44% to its lowest level on record while it was in effect. But during the last three years, the party demonstrated that it’s still committed to an economic program that puts tax cuts for large corporations above the well-being of children and families.

At the same time, the GOP has blocked legislation to build a universal pre-K system, enact paid family and medical leave, expand subsidies for child care and improve home care for older people and people with disabilities.

Republicans want to have it both ways, touting their pro-family agenda while blocking pro-family legislation.

Democrats shouldn’t just mock Vance’s “childless cat lady” comments or rely on legal cases, even felony convictions, to make their case in the closing months of this election campaign. The party's candidates need to make it clear who is standing up for children and parents.

Increasingly, Republicans are framing the parenting issue as an existential question. Focusing on policy for children and families, they argue, demonstrates a commitment to the future.

This is a debate Democrats should welcome — and one they can handily win.

Justin Talbot Zorn is a senior advisor at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Mark Weisbrot is co-director.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Hoosier Democrats long for a Pete Buttigieg VP, but recognize they might not get it

Kayla Dwyer, Indianapolis Star
Updated Mon, August 5, 2024

There’s a new energy afoot among Indiana Democratic party faithfuls, and it’s entirely due to Vice President Kamala Harris’ whirlwind presidential bid ― with the added bonus of a Hoosier in the running for her No. 2.

So much so, that those gathered in French Lick over the weekend for the annual Indiana Democratic Editorial Association convention didn’t seem overly concerned with who Harris might choose as her running mate in a matter of hours or days, even if it’s not their sentimental favorite, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Her impending decision is merely a subject of excited speculation; delegates there appeared to be along for the ride, regardless.

From USA Today: Who's up? Who's down? Harris' VP options in limbo ahead of imminent decision

“There’s not one person on her list I wouldn’t like,” said Vanderburgh County Democratic Chair Cheryl Schultz, who will be voting on Harris’ pick as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention later this month.

Buttigieg is on the vice-president-hopeful shortlist, as are Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. Schultz believes Buttigieg has the best shot, because of his existing relationship with Harris as transportation secretary, and because he’s proven adept at defending the party line on various platforms, including conservative outlets like Fox News. Buttigieg held a fundraiser for Harris Saturday in New Hampshire; Beshear and Walz also have fundraisers scheduled Monday.

Harris is expected to make her decision by Tuesday.


U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg answers questions from reporters Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, at Ivy Tech Community College in Kokomo, Indiana.

Other Hoosier Democrats say that Buttigieg, much as they would love to see him prevail, may not be the most strategic choice for the ticket.

“My heart wants Pete,” said Veronica Pejril, a delegate from Putnam County. “My brain tells me it’s probably going to be Shapiro.”

They say this due to the electoral math: Shapiro, from a swing state like Pennsylvania, would deliver votes that 8th Congressional District party chair Dave Crooks compares to “gold at Fort Knox.” It nearly pains Crooks to admit it ― he’s such a Buttigieg fan that he was one of about 18,000 Hoosiers who still voted for him for president in 2020, even though Buttigieg had dropped out of the race.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro speaks during a campaign rally for Vice President Kamala Harris on July 29, 2024 in Ambler, Pennsylvania.

It might help, too, to choose someone not so closely affiliated with the Biden administration ― an outsider, said Vigo County Democratic Chair Joseph Etling.

Derek Camp, a delegate and the Allen County party chair, said he thinks Buttigieg and Walz each have a good chance ― Walz because of his folksy disposition.

“He’s your favorite Midwest grandpa who’s just fun to hang out with,” Camp said.

Of greater import to convention attendees is the shot in the arm Harris’ campaign has injected down-ballot. In the week after her campaign launch, Camp said he fielded calls from about 30 precinct directors in his district asking for door-knocking lists. Among the statehouse races that the Indiana House Democratic Caucus tracks, field director Seth Rawlings said there was a roughly 30% increase in the amount of doors they knocked on and an average 20% increase in donations to their candidates.

Rawlings, a 23-year-old Muncie resident, signed up to be a delegate the day of President Joe Biden’s infamously poor debate performance that changed the tune among Democrats. Tensions were high when it was unclear whether Democrats might have a contested convention.

“When I first signed up for this, I thought we were marching toward battle,” Rawlings said. “Now it feels like it’s going to be more of a party.”

The mood Saturday, especially at a dinner event where former Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan gave a keynote address, was ebullient ― far more spirited than the defeatist mood many Indiana Democrats have grown used to in a state where they’ve been out of power at the Statehouse for more than a decade.

Former U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio gives the keynote address at a dinner reception during the Indiana Democratic Editorial Association convention Saturday, Aug. 4 in French Lick, Indiana.

Ryan spent some of his time revving up the audience over a different vice-presidential pick: JD Vance, Republican nominee Donald Trump’s running mate and the Ohio senator who won the seat over Ryan in 2022. He decried Vance’s support for a national abortion ban, and said Trump’s selection of him is a doubling down on Project 2025, a playbook of conservative policies that the Heritage Foundation crafted in the event Trump is elected.

“We’re not going to allow them to hijack the political debate in this country,” Ryan said. “It’s time to move on. It’s time to heal.”

In an interview with IndyStar afterward, Ryan said he didn’t have strong feelings about who Harris should pick to run by her side.

“I almost don’t even care,” he said. “It’s like, just pick and let’s go.”

That’s not far from the sentiment among Indiana party loyalists, like Schultz of Vanderburgh County.

Vanderburgh County Democratic Party Chair Cheryl Schultz, left, and Veronica Pejril, a candidate for state Senate from Putnam County, are both delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago later this month. Kayla Dwyer/IndyStar

“We’re just going to be happy with whatever,” she said. “I think there are no bad choices.”

“There’ll be cheering all around,” Pejril added.

Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Veepstakes: Indiana Democrats love Buttigieg, but 'there are no bad choices'

Democratic politicians’ husbands rake in record haul during New York event

Edward Helmore
Sat, August 3, 2024 

Pete Buttigieg at the White House on Tuesday.Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP


While Kamala Harris cleared her campaign diary this weekend to finalize her choice of running mate ahead of a swing-state presidential campaign blitz next week, political spouses were hard at work.

The vice-president’s husband, Doug Emhoff, and Chasten Buttigieg, husband of the US transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg – a potential running mate for Harris at the top of November’s Democratic ticket whose candidacy has been strengthening in recent days – were on New York’s Fire Island on Friday for a sold-out event that raised $321,000.

According to reports, the total was a record for the Pines, part of the narrow barrier island that runs south of Long Island, famous as an LGBTQ+ summering spot second only to Provincetown, Massachusetts.


Related: Who is Tim Walz, the governor who could be Harris’s vice-presidential pick?

Former treasurer of the Democratic National Committee Andrew Tobias told Vanity Fair that the double-teaming husbands had beat the $200,000 haul for a 2016 political event hosted by the singer Cher.

The outlet reported that US Secret Service agents “appeared to waylay hunks in bikini cut swimsuits to smuggle Emhoff on and off the island”. The fundraiser had initially been organized for Harris and Joe Biden before the president quit his re-election campaign – and it had sold out before the vice-president had become the candidate.

“The right to love who you want to love, the right to marry who you want to marry, to do what you want in your home, with who you love, without the government over your shoulder … this affects all of you,” Emhoff told the crowd, echoing fears that a US supreme court with three Trump appointees could eliminate same-sex couples’ right to marriage. “We need to have an army for freedom, an army for justice, led by my wife, Kamala Harris.”

The Emhoff-Buttigieg husband double act raised speculation that it could be a test run for the transportation secretary to be Harris’s vice-presidential pick. Harris has until Tuesday to decide whom to pick as her running mate.

Pennsylvania’s governor, Josh Shapiro, whom many consider as the leading candidate to be Harris’s running mate, may help with his crucial swing state. But he could also bleed votes away from Harris elsewhere over his strong support of Israel’s war on Gaza, which became a constant source of criticism for the Biden White House.

“Of course I want it to be Pete,” fundraiser Jack Kabin said. But Kabin said he was worried “America isn’t ready for a gay vice-president”.

Rumors of Buttigieg’s strengthening contention in the veepstakes come amid a media blitz. He is estimated to have made at least 30 media appearances, trips to two swing states and held a Washington news conference in the past two weeks. In recent days, he acknowledged that he is “probably” being vetted.

In Buttigieg’s favor is his ability as a calm, skilled communicator. He is a Rhodes scholar and a veteran, previously served as a mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and he has emerged as formidable critic of Trump and the Republican vice-presidential candidate, JD Vance.

Buttigieg frequently appears on Fox News. Recently, he went on the Republican-friendly network and criticized Trump supporters for fostering a “warped reality” in which the former president is “perfectly fine … even though he’s rambling about electrocuting sharks”.

Asked why he was so frequently on the outlet, Buttigieg told Bill Maher in July that it was not his job to speak only to people that agreed with him.

Asked why wealthy men, including gay tech investor Peter Thiel, supported Trump, he said the issues had been made “way too complicated”.

“It’s super simple,” he said. “These are very rich men who have decided to back the Republican party that tends to do good things for very rich men.”

On CNN, he called Vance “a regrettable choice” because he is “somebody who was at his most convincing and effective when he talked about how unfit for office Donald Trump is, and he has not explained any reason, other than of course his obvious interest in power, why he would have changed his mind on that”.

In Esquire magazine, columnist, actor and former White House engagement adviser Kal Penn wrote that Buttigieg is the Democratic party’s “best chance for expanding the electorate and evolving the platform”.

“He’s multilingual,” Penn wrote. “He’s comfortable on the world stage. He is deeply connected to blue-collar voters. He polls exceptionally well.

“Most important, as a young husband and father of two with a modest home in northern Michigan, he speaks openly about his own family’s struggles and triumphs, which mirror what many Americans deal with day to day.”

Opinion

Kamala Harris has MAGA world freaking out about demons and the apocalypse

Anthony L. Fisher
Updated Sun, August 4, 2024 

It’s always the end of the world for the Make America Great Again movement. Ever since Donald Trump’s escalator ride in 2015, there’s been zero nuance to the MAGA message. “Only I can fix it,” the leader roared to thunderous applause upon accepting the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

But especially since Vice President Kamala Harris became the likely Democratic nominee, MAGA messaging has gone from overwrought and hyperbolic to absolutely hysterical and apocalyptic.

Trumpists wave off any and all criticism as unworthy of discussion, bad-faith accusations from minds afflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome. And yet, deranged is the only appropriate descriptor of the rhetoric emanating from MAGA land’s loudest megaphones. It’s Trump and some of his closest allies and most prominent boosters who have been speaking of an imminent totalitarian government, end times and literal biblical demons.

These people include podcasters with massive, fiercely dedicated audiences. Titans of industry. Religious extremists with political ambitions and close ties to Trump world. And the richest man in the world.

In just the past week, popular MAGA pundits warned that Harris is “Hitler and Stalin combined but times 200,” and also a “commie” who will choose a running mate who supports “allowing men to beat up women in the Olympics.” They also expressed outrage over the opening ceremony at the Paris Olympics as the end of “Western civilization,” and singled out one woman on a Zoom fundraiser call for Harris’ campaign as another harbinger of end times.

Then there was the billionaire Trump supporter who finally freed himself from the burden of pretending he’s not MAGA, Elon Musk, bringing back one of his favorite apocalyptic buzzwords, “extinctionist,” to describe Harris. (And because he’s a serious adult, he called her “Shamala.”)

Musk once generally reserved that term for environmentalists — or really anyone concerned about climate change. But he’s since expanded the definition to anything that involves the mysterious and horror-movie-sounding “woke mind virus.” In 2023, Musk told Joe Rogan, “It’s essentially the extinctionists. It is that they’re propagating the extinction of humanity and civilization.”

It’s hard to argue what’s “most disturbing” among these deranged comments from very angry people, but a worthy contender came from Lance Wallnau, the influential Christian nationalist who has the ears of both Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson. He likened the first Black and Indian woman to be nominated for president by a major party to Jezebel — a spirit with demonic powers. In case he wasn’t driving the point home with just the name, Wallnau clarified that Harris represents “the spirit of Jezebel … in a way that’ll be even much more ominous than Hillary because she’ll bring a racial component and she’s younger.”

The MAGA right hasn’t cornered the market on ridiculous and irresponsible hyperbole in politics. Left, right and center are all capable of taking liberties with facts, hyping the fear factor and exaggerating the stakes.

But of all American political tribes, there’s only one with politically influential figures using this election season to prophesize about Jezebels and explicitly making it about race and gender. Or literally warning of the imminent end of the world because of a Marxist conspiracy to smuggle totalitarianism on an unsuspecting public through environmentalism.

This was once the content you’d find on the furthest, most ridiculous fringes of the AM radio dial. And they are what remains of the brain trust of the MAGA movement.

Donald Trump,Elon Musk,Wendell P. Weeks (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP file)

The first Trump presidency — right up to his attempt to overturn the 2020 election and ultimate incitement of a riot at the Capitol — was consistent in the fact that the only people who stayed until the end were the true believers. Anyone with a modicum of independence was jettisoned, forever.

The aforementioned MAGA influencers are worthy of ridicule, sure, but they’re more worthy of thoughtful, diligent scrutiny, because they’d be guiding forces of what might pass for principles in a second Trump administration.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com

Chinese firms' overseas expansion drive opens up opportunities for Citigroup

South China Morning Post
Mon, Aug 5, 2024


Chinese companies are in a rush to go global amid a competitive domestic landscape and overall slower consumption at home.

Even with many cultural hurdles to overcome, a global expansion presents lucrative opportunities for medium to large Chinese companies, both in terms of making profits and diversifying risks, creating business opportunities for lenders such as Citigroup, according to a top executive.

"Chinese companies are especially looking at emerging markets like the Middle East, Asean and Africa," said Lin Hai, head of Citi Commercial Bank (CCB) for China. "But some of the biggest challenges they face include lack of local know-how."

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The companies' expansion plans are gathering pace as China experiences slower growth. The economy expanded by 4.7 per cent year on year in the second quarter, after recording 5.3 per cent growth in the first quarter. The government has set an annual gross domestic product growth target of around 5 per cent for this year.

China's retail sales, a gauge of consumption, rose 2 per cent in June, slowing significantly from a 3.7 per cent increase in May, proving further impetus for the overseas drive.

Some Chinese brands are turning to Asian countries where their products - like bubble tea, for example - are more familiar to consumers. Others that are less culturally specific, such as car makers, are looking to the West where their products can fetch higher prices than in China.


Cosmetics maker Maogeping and Midea, the world's biggest home appliances maker, are hoping to expand globally after public listings in Hong Kong. Maogeping is the only domestic player in cosmetics that was among the top 10 premium beauty companies in China, ranking eighth by retail sales in 2022, according to data from consultancy Frost & Sullivan.

Like Midea, Maogeping's prospectus revealed its plans to use a portion of the proceeds from the proposed initial public offering to strengthen its global brand presence and increase overseas market penetration.

Others like Kuaishou Technology, China's second-largest short video and live streaming platform operator, are hoping to continue to ride on their popularity in the Middle East and South America.

The tech company said it would soon be setting up an office in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, and expanding in countries like Brazil and Indonesia.


Office buildings of Midea Group in Foshan, in China's Guangdong province, pictured on February 17, 2024. Photo: Simon Song alt=Office buildings of Midea Group in Foshan, in China's Guangdong province, pictured on February 17, 2024. Photo: Simon Song>

Those moves make sense as emerging markets are experiencing rapid economic growth, have a growing middle class and big population, making them attractive for Chinese companies, said Lin. Going global is also a way to diversify risk, he added.

As a result Citigroup has been fielding rising inquiries from companies on setting up manufacturing capabilities in other markets and getting products closer to the end buyer, he said.

In the last 18 months, the US bank has seen cross-border activity with Latin America double, and triple with the Middle East and Africa.

"Amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, it is important for corporations to have a diversified strategy and not put all their eggs in one basket," he said. "If you just concentrate all your business in one country, there's a higher risk of being impacted by tensions."

With more Chinese companies going global, Citigroup has seen a 20 per cent uptick in the first quarter of this year in the number of mainland Chinese businesses setting up bank accounts overseas.

"As a global bank, the execution [of loans] can be very fast and companies have been looking at various places, from Mexico and Brazil to Vietnam and Malaysia," said Lin.

But global expansion comes with its own array of challenges, he said, pointing out that local regulatory environments and tax regimes can be complicated. Figuring out how to best set up the company structure and fund local operations can be challenging, he added.

Another common pain point is sourcing the right people. "Finding enough skilled and trustworthy mid-level management to manage overseas business is a common issue for Chinese corporations," he said.

Cultural adaptability and branding strategies are some of the other challenges Chinese companies will have to navigate as they increasingly head abroad, he added.

Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Election officials urge Elon Musk to stop his AI chatbot from spreading false 2024 election information

Zachary Cohen and Marshall Cohen, CNN
Mon, August 5, 2024 

A bipartisan group of secretaries of state blasted Elon Musk and his X platform Monday for providing “false information” about Vice President Kamala Harris’ supposed ineligibility to appear on the 2024 presidential ballot in several battleground states.

The group flagged issues that emerged last month with the AI-powered Grok chatbot on X, formerly known as Twitter. Soon after President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign, Grok provided information to some users inaccurately stating that, “The ballot deadline has passed for several states for the 2024 election,” in nine states including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Texas and Ohio, according to the letter.

“This is false,” the letter says. “In all nine states the opposite is true: The ballots are not closed, and upcoming ballot deadlines would allow for changes to candidates listed on the ballot for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States.”

The letter urged Musk to “immediately implement changes” on the X platform. They want him to direct users to a nonpartisan website from the National Association of Secretaries of State where voters can look up reliable information about their registration status and polling-place locations.

Election officials from five of the nine affected states – Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico and Washington state – signed onto the letter. Four of the five officials are Democrats. Pennsylvania’s top election official, Al Schmidt, is a Republican who famously refused to support former President Donald Trump’s attempts to interfere with the 2020 election results in Philadelphia.

CNN has reached out to X for comment.

According to the letter, the false information about Harris’ eligibility to appear on the ballot reached “millions of people” before it was apparently corrected, after 10 days.

After Musk took over Twitter in 2022, he has removed many of the prior guardrails that protected the platform from disinformation. This has allowed inaccurate information and full-blown conspiracy theories about a variety of topics, including the 2024 election, to proliferate and reach millions.


Five US states push Musk to fix AI chatbot over election misinformation

Updated Mon, August 5, 2024 
By Kanishka Singh and Chandni Shah

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretaries of state from five U.S. states urged billionaire Elon Musk on Monday to fix social media platform X's AI chatbot, saying it had spread misinformation related to the Nov. 5 election.

Social media platforms, including X, have been under scrutiny for years over the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories, including false information about elections and vaccines. There has been growing concern in Washington that AI-generated content could mislead voters in the November presidential and congressional elections.

Since Musk bought the platform formerly called Twitter in 2022, civil rights groups have raised concerns over a rise in hate speech and misinformation due to reduced content moderation.

Musk, who last month endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, himself has been accused of spreading misinformation. For example, he has said, without evidence, that Democrats are allowing migrants to cross the southern border so that they can vote in federal elections, even though they are ineligible to do so.

"As Secretaries of State whose offices and 37 million constituents were recently impacted by false information provided by your platform, we are calling on you to immediately implement changes to X's AI search assistant, Grok, to ensure voters have accurate information in this critical election year," the officials from Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Washington, Michigan and New Mexico said in an open letter to Musk.

After Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden stepped aside as presidential candidate on July 21 and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, the chatbot, Grok, falsely told social media users that Harris had missed the ballot deadline in nine states.

"This is false. In all nine states the opposite is true," the letter from the secretaries of state added.

Musk said in March that Grok - a chatbot from artificial intelligence startup xAI - would be enabled for all premium subscribers of X.

The officials said in their letter that even though the chatbot is only available to premium users, its misinformation was shared with millions of people on social media.

The officials said that X should direct Grok users to CanIVote.org, a nonpartisan website on U.S. voting information, when asked about U.S. elections.

The social media platform did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Chandni Shah, editing by Deepa Babington)

Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC is now under investigation for falsely claiming to register voters
Nicholas Liu
Mon, August 5, 2024 

Elon Musk Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images


Residents in battleground states are submitting personal information to a pro-Trump PAC whose website invites them to "register to vote" — but instead of actually registering any voters, the PAC is just storing their precious voter data. Now Michigan's top elections official is opening an investigation in the so-called "America PAC," which was founded and partially funded by billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, for potential violations of state election law.

“Every citizen should know exactly how their personal information is being used by PACs, especially if an entity is claiming it will help people register to vote in Michigan or any other state,” a spokeswoman for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, said in a statement to CNBC.

When visitors to the PAC's website access the page from safe Democratic or Republican states, they are typically directed to an actual voter registration page. However, those who enter zip codes in a battleground state like Pennsylvania or Georgia are given a highly detailed form in which they are prompted to submit their address, cellphone number and age. Even after the user submits that information, the website does not help them register to vote, despite promising to do so, instead steering them towards a "thank you" page.

As of Aug. 4, following criticism of the deceptive tactic, the form disappeared from the website.

According to CNBC, which was the first to report on America PAC, the committee has spent over $21 million since June on canvassing, digital media, text message services and phone calls, per Federal Election Commission filings. Around $800,000 of that money went into digital marketing ads targeted at voters in battleground states, with many encouraging voters to visit their website and "register to vote."

"America PAC is focusing on door-to-door canvassing in support of Trump," Brendan Fischer, deputy executive director at campaign finance watchdog Documented, told CNBC. "I think it is safe to assume that the voter data gathered through these digital appeals are going to inform America PAC's canvassing and other political activities."

Fischer noted that FEC ruling permits billionaire-funded PACs and presidential campaigns to directly coordinate on door-to-door canvassing activities, which "ensures that the PAC's activities are maximally beneficial to the campaign, and frees up the campaign's own funds for other use."

Some legal experts said the Musk-backed PAC's deceptive tactics might be legal. “I am not aware of any laws being broken,” Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, said in an email to CNBC on Sunday.

Musk is not the only tech executive bankrolling the effort. America PAC, which raised more than $8 million between April 1 and June 30, has also received donations from venture capitalist Doug Leone, as well as cryptocurrency investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss; it has also, according to CNBC, received funds from a company run by Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. The records do not yet list Musk as a donor, though he has said repeatedly that he is making donations to the committee.

Musk's support for the PAC comes after he's used his social media platform, X, to amplify pro-Trump voices and manipulate community guidelines to suppress anti-Trump speech. Last week, he violated his own platform's rules in sharing a doctored video of Vice

President Kamala Harris, with X also temporarily suspending several pro-Harris accounts.

Michigan Officials Open Probe Into Elon Musk’s Pro-Trump PAC

Lily Mae Lazarus
Sun, August 4, 2024 

David Swanson/Reuters

The Michigan secretary of state’s office opened an investigation over the weekend into a political action committee created and partially funded by Elon Musk.

The America PAC, which supports former president Donald Trump, has been collecting voter data from residents of battleground states, including Michigan—a potential violation of state law, according to authorities.

“Every citizen should know exactly how their personal information is being used by PACs, especially if an entity is claiming it will help people register to vote in Michigan or any other state,” a spokeswoman for the Michigan secretary of state’s office said in a statement to CNBC.


The PAC was gathering voter information through the website’s “register to vote section,” where, after providing a ZIP code, address and phone number, users would be directed to a page that said “thank you” alongside a message asking them to “complete the form below” to help finish the registration process.

As of Aug. 4, however, any mention of the form disappeared from the page, which now only reads “thank you.”


According to AdImpact, the committee has shelled out more than $800,000 since early July for targeted digital marketing to battleground state voters namely in Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Many of the ads encouraged people to register to vote at America PAC’s website.

The Michigan secretary of state’s investigation seeks to determine if the Tesla founder’s committee violated state law by seeking the information. “We will refer potential violations to the Michigan Attorney General’s office as appropriate,” a spokeswoman for the department continued.

Michigan Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson speaks to reporters on midterm election day in 2022.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s secretary of state and the state’s top election official, has been a vocal opponent of Trump and his allies’ election denialism.

She, along with a host of other Michigan Democrats, was sued at least twice by the Republican National Committee in 2024.

The Daily Beast.

MR. FLIP FLOP

Trump says he has 'no choice' but to support electric vehicles because Elon Musk 'endorsed me very strongly'

Kenneth Niemeyer
Sun, August 4, 2024 

Trump said at a rally on Saturday that he supports electric vehicles because Elon Musk endorsed him.


However, he also criticized EV infrastructure and Biden's EV mandates.


Musk has publicly backed Trump recently but denied a rumored $45 million donation.

Former President Donald Trump said he had "no choice" but to support electric vehicles after Tesla CEO Elon Musk "endorsed" him.

Trump then went on to criticize the EV industry at length.

Musk has long been a champion of the pivot to electric vehicles. His company, Tesla, has largely led the way in developing the industry, which for a time made Musk a darling of the climate-conscious left.

But Musk has more recently embraced conservative politics, especially the issue of free speech. Musk bought Twitter in 2022, rebranded it to X, and has dismantled many of the checks and balances meant to limit hateful speech and misinformation on the platform.

Musk has publicly supported Trump since the assassination attempt last month. Musk, however, has denied reports that he pledged a $45 million donation to a pro-Trump super PAC.

At a rally in Georgia on Sunday, Trump told the crowd that he supports electric cars but thinks people should still have access to gas vehicles.

"I'm for electric cars. I have to be because, you know, Elon endorsed me very strongly," Trump told the crowd. "So, I have no choice."

He then clarified that he only supports them as a "small slice" of the larger auto industry.

"You want to have gas-propelled cars. You want to have hybrids. You want to have every kind of car," he said.

Trump has repeatedly attacked the Biden administration's electric vehicle regulations, including its plan to grow electric vehicle sales to half of all new vehicle sales by 2030.

While speaking at a bitcoin conference in July, Trump gave similar remarks when referencing Biden's regulations, which also make it more difficult for gas-powered cars to meet EPA standards.

"Not everybody has to have an electric car. I told him that," Trump said, referencing Musk. "So we're going to get rid of that mandate if you don't mind. Some people want gasoline-propelled cars, some people want a hybrid, and some people like an electric car."

Trump has also repeatedly criticized the cost of installing EV chargers nationwide. He erroneously claimed the government built eight chargers in the Midwest for $9 billion.

He's given wildly inconsistent estimates for how much it would cost to install EV chargers nationwide. At the bitcoin conference, he said it would cost $12 trillion. At a North Carolina rally on Thursday, he said it would cost $9 trillion. And at the Atlanta rally on Sunday, he said it would cost $5 trillion.

The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 included $7.5 billion to help pay for thousands of electric vehicle chargers around the country, Politico reported.

The White House's infrastructure tracking website shows that only 15 charging stations have been installed so far. An analysis published by research firm Atlas Public Policy shows that each station received about $770,000 in federal funding, Politico reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Israel’s ambassador to Japan criticizes Nagasaki’s peace ceremony invitation snub

Chris Lau, CNN
Mon, August 5, 2024 at 2:26 AM MDT·3 min read

Israel’s envoy to Japan has hit out at authorities in Nagasaki after they declined to invite him to a peace ceremony commemorating the 1945 atomic bombing of the city, accusing the local mayor of “inventing” security fears.

The decision by Nagasaki contrasts with that of Hiroshima, which hosts its ceremony on Tuesday and has invited Israel.

Both cities had been under pressure from activists and bomb survivor groups to exclude Israel due to its bombardment of Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since Israel began targeting militant group Hamas following the October 7 attack.

Russia and Belarus have both been disinvited over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and campaigners had hoped Nagasaki and Hiroshima - which both suffered the horror unleashed by nuclear weapons at the end of World War II – would do the same.

Nagasaki’s mayor Shiro Suzuki told reporters last week that Israel’s exclusion from Friday’s upcoming memorial was due to security concerns and was not a political decision.

“I would like to emphasize that this decision was not based on political considerations, but rather on our desire to hold the ceremony to commemorate the victims of the atomic bombings in a peaceful and solemn atmosphere, and to ensure that the ceremony goes smoothly,” he said, calling the decision “difficult.”

But Gilad Cohen, Israel’s ambassador in Tokyo, rejected that argument.

“It has nothing to do with public order,” he told CNN on Monday. “I checked it with the relevant authorities that are responsible for public order and security, and there is no obstacle for me to go to Nagasaki,” he added, accusing the mayor of “inventing this.”

“I am really surprised by him hijacking this ceremony for his political motivations,” the diplomat added.

CNN has reached out to the Nagasaki authorities for comment.

Cohen did not reveal more about why he felt there were no security concerns, citing confidentiality. But he pointed out authorities in Hiroshima took no issue with security over Israel’s attendance.

He said he would be laying floral tributes at Hiroshima Peace Park on Tuesday to commemorate the victims of atomic bombing and their families.

The Atomic Bomb Dome war memorial in Hiroshima, Japan on December 13, 2023. - Kyodo News/Getty Images

The diplomat noted that Iran, which backs both Hamas and Hezbollah, is set to attend the Nagasaki ceremony.

“This is exactly the opposite message that should be sent to the free world and to civilization,” he said.

He did not reveal whether the embassy has made an official complaint to the Japanese government but called Tokyo “an ally of Israel.”

CNN has contacted the Japanese government for comment.

The bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and Nagasaki three days later led to Japan’s unconditional surrender and brought an end to World War II. But it also killed tens of thousands of people, both instantly and in the months and years to come due to radiation sickness.

Each year the two cities hold memorials attended by diplomats to promote global peace and the idea that nuclear weapons must never be used again.



UK 

Commemorations in Worcester Aug. 6 and 9 for 79th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Richard Duckett, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Sun, August 4, 2024

The Saints Francis & Thérèse Catholic Worker community held a vigil for nuclear disarmament at Lincoln Square on August 6, 2020, which coincided with the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan. There will be another "Stand-out for Nuclear Disarmament" demonstration from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Aug. 6, again in Lincoln Square.


WORCESTER — Three events organized by Worcester peace and social justice groups will commemorate the 79th anniversary of the United States atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan on Aug. 6 and 9, 1945, during World War II.

The Center for Nonviolent Solutions, Saints Francis and Therese Catholic Worker and the Mustard Seed Catholic Worker will put on a Stand-out for Nuclear Disarmament from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Aug. 6 at Lincoln Square.

At 7 p.m. Aug. 6 the groups will host a free Worcester premiere screening of the award-winning documentary "Silent Fallout" at the Worcester PopUp at the Jean McDonough Arts Center, 20 Franklin St. Director Hideaki Ito’s film on nuclear fallout aims to raise awareness about the grave issue of radiation poisoning and nuclear contamination in the U.S. and globally. Alec Baldwin is the narrator.

A Hiroshima and Nagasaki Remembrance and Peace Ceremony from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 9 at Worcester's Peace Park, Winslow and Pleasant streets, will honor all victims of nuclear weapons with readings, music and a candlelit ceremony for peace.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Events Aug. 6 and 9 to mark 79th anniversary of Hiroshima, Nagasaki